The U.S. women’s gymnastics team won the gold medal at the Olympics on Tuesday.
It was the first time since 2016 that the team won the gold medal and the fourth time overall for U.S. women’s gymnastics. They finished ahead of the surprising silver medalists Italy, who received a medal in Olympics gymnastics for the first time since 1928. The U.S. finished with 171.296 points, while Italy had 165.494. Brazil took third place and the bronze medal with 164.497 points.
The U.S. team was led by gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, now in her third Olympics. Despite a few routine mishaps, the U.S. team dominated the competition. The team’s lead was so large that those mistakes did not wind up mattering much in the final result.
While the spotlight was undoubtedly on Biles, teammate Sunisa “Suni” Lee might have been the unsung hero of the competition.
Lee, who won the gold medal in the all-around competition in the last summer Olympics in Tokyo, overcame a serious kidney disease in 2023. The condition was so severe that it caused her entire body to swell up, and she was unsure if she would ever be able to compete again. Her performance on the uneven bars on Tuesday helped the U.S. clinch the gold.
On Tuesday, after the victory, Lee mentioned that she was nervous about the competition on Monday night and sought guidance from team leader Simone Biles and fellow teammate Jordan Chiles, ESPN reported.
“We’re just really trying to support and lean on one another,” Lee said. “So that’s kind of the nature of the conversation, just letting each other know that we can lean on each other because we’ve been there. It’s really hard to be doing what we are doing, and it’s easier if we can lean on each other.”
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Next up for the women’s gymnastics team is the all-around competition and the individual event finals for the balance beam, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise. Biles, who won her fifth gold medal and eighth medal overall with the victory on Tuesday, has the opportunity to add to her collection.
The team’s win on Tuesday made Biles the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history. Now, she has the opportunity to add to her legend and become the American gymnast awarded the most gold medals ever in Olympic competitions.
